‘He's with me every day’: Lisa Niemi pays tribute to Patrick Swayze ahead of ‘Dirty Dancing’ 35th anniversary
The iconic dance-drama movie ‘Dirty Dancing’ celebrates its 35th anniversary on August 21 and as the date approaches near, the wife of the film’s lead star Patrick Swayze paid a fitting tribute to her late husband. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Lisa Niemi revealed how she still felt close to her late husband and misses him more than a decade after his death.
Niemi in her latest interview also recalled the iconic scene of the award-winning movie where Patrick Swayze lifts Jennifer Grey during a dance sequence in the film. Niemi revealed that Swayze was completely game for it. For the uninitiated, Niemi was married to Swayze from 1975 until he died in the year 2009. The actor, dancer and singer, known for films like 'Ghost', 'Dirty Dancing' and 'Point Break,' succumbed to pancreatic cancer at the age of 57.
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‘Don't think there's anything I don't miss about him’
Speaking to ET! Online, Lisa Niemi spoke of her late husband saying, “I don't think there's anything I don't miss about him. He's got such a zest for life and this and that, but it's all the little things that are left.” She continued, “It's the sound of his voice, how he smells, all the things that put him in the room with you that are physical."
Niemi further shared, “It's very strange for me, because he's been gone 13 years now. It's strange. That’s quite a bit of time, and it's very strange to have someone so far away and yet have them still so incredibly close in your heart” adding, “I feel like he's with me every day, but of course it'd be nice to have him physically in the room. But I tell you what, we had a great ride and there’s so much to be grateful for." Niemi and Swayze had no children but she suffered a miscarriage. The two first met in 1970 when Swayze was 18 and Niemi was 14. She used to take dance lessons from the actor’s mother.
‘Patrick was strong enough to do all that stuff’
Lisa Niemi a day ahead of the 35th anniversary of ‘Dirty Dancing’ shared how her husband was strong enough to pull the iconic lift which has become a renowned pop culture reference. “When Patrick was still alive, he would always say, 'I’m on my second generation of fans' ... He'd get approached by young ladies who weren't even born when the movie came out," said Niemi.
Shedding light on the dancing scene, she shared, “Patrick loves going off and he was strong enough to do all that stuff” adding, “so when they want to pull off a great lift, he says, 'I got one for you.'" It was earlier reported that ‘Dirty Dancing’ lead actress Jennifer Grey was on board to produce the sequel to the 1987 romantic drama dance film. She was also reported to star in it. However, Niemi, speaking on the same claimed, “He would not do it again. [The way they] left it was absolutely perfect. There were several iterations of a script for that movie, but Patrick had a high standard and he wasn't gonna do it just for the money."